Last week, I announced on Twitter and Facebook that 1000 Generations is coming to close. We also released “The Last 3 Songs” that we’ve been working on, for absolutely free on NoiseTrade (to download it, click here). This week, I’d like to explain why exactly I’m moving on.

Let me start by saying that I love our tribe of 1000 Generations so freaking much. This truly has nothing to do with some internal struggle in the band. Over the years, we have truly become a family. I know them inside and out, and they me. We will continue to do life and music together, just not as “1000 Generations.” The reason we’re moving on is a bit a hairball, but I will try to peel back some of the layers for you.

The most focused and happy I felt with the band was probably around the time of releasing our 2nd album, “To Those Who Cry.” It felt pure. It felt honest. It was life-giving. Somewhere along the way though, I started getting caught up in “bigger, better, stronger, faster.” This became especially apparent to me after we started seeing some chart success at radio.

Getting radio was such a blessing. Yet for me, it seemed like all I did for a while was watch the charts to see where we were. I started having good days or bad days depending on our rise or fall. I hated it, and wasn’t feeling very good about myself either.

Around the same time, I started producing other artist friends of mine. I was having SO much fun. I wanted to get into this more, but never could find enough time.

I also started having a strong desire to go back to school to work on a Master’s of Science in Music Technology. I have always loved the nerdy, tech side of music just as much as the creative, emotional side. But we were on the road almost all the time.

I started losing passion for touring because my once clear, God-given mission with the band started getting hazy. What were we supposed to be doing? We tossed around a lot of good ideas but without a clear directive from God, I knew we were just floundering doing our own thing. I didn’t like this idea at all, and I know the other guys didn’t either.

Finally, Amanda and I started having this crazy desire to procreate. We noticed the world differently. We saw “families” for the first time, and wondered what that might look like for the two of us! There really is something to the whole “biological clock” thing I think. Prior to this, we really poured as many of our waking hours solely into 1000 Generations. That was our family.

All this started adding up until the day came that I just asked Amanda, “are we really supposed to continue 1000 Generations?” We’d worked so hard to establish a dream in our hearts, so even the thought of quitting seemed ridiculous. But I couldn’t shake the feelings. “What if it’s time to let it go?” Scary thoughts.

Around December 2011, Amanda and I got together with the rest of the band, and asked them what they thought we should all do. After going round and round for a few hours, we all came to the conclusion that without clear directives from God, 1000 Generations doesn’t make sense. It was bittersweet. It still is.

So what are we going to do now? First, we’re going to finish out this year strong as a band. We are thrilled about the upcoming events left on our calendar, and plan to put out a few more videos and things here and there. Apart from that, we’re not really sure. I know that I want to produce more artists, and spend more time with my amazing family (I also have this secret desire to release a children’s project that parents wouldn’t actually mind playing on car trips because the music is creative and good). We’ll just have to wait and see.

If you haven’t already, be sure to share “The Last 3 Songs” with your friends because they’re completely free. We did this as a way to say that we love you and sincerely appreciate you as one of the many who’ve supported us and our music throughout the years.

Keep watching as next week Amanda will release a YouTube video here sharing her heart behind writing one of the songs on the free release, “You Are Faithful.”

After much prayer, thought, and conversation, we inform you today that 1000 Generations is coming to a close. While we’ve loved every minute of being on the road, pouring our hearts into the music, and worshiping our amazing God, we have slowly been realizing that we’re longing to go after other pursuits. Being on the road almost non-stop for 8 years hasn’t given us the freedom to do that.

This was not an easy decision for us to make. We love one another, love the music, and love you, our friends. In the coming weeks, I’m going to blog further about our decision and where we see things headed.

For now though, we wanted to share with you our latest material that we’ve been working on since the release of our last album, “Wrecked For the Ordinary.” We’re very proud of this material and wanted it to see the light of day. So, we’ve decided to release a very special EP (available online only) of our last 3 works. These songs are available as of today!

We invite you to take a listen and download “The Last 3 Songs” by simply clicking here. If you like them, share them with your friends and community. We want them to be an encouragement to all who’ll listen. The songs can be downloaded for free, but if you dig them, please consider leaving a tip.

Know that we’ll continue to play a few shows till the end of the year, and also have some upcoming “stories behind the songs” videos planned for our website. Most importantly, we want to thank YOU for being a friend of ours throughout the years. We are so blessed to have you in our lives, and that you have allowed us and our music a place in your heart. We hope to stay in touch!

If you’d like, we invite you to share your favorite 1000 Generations songs, shows, and/or moments on Twitter by including @stevenpotaczek and #1000Generations in your post(s). We’ll also be posting our favorite moments and songs in the coming weeks and months.